Adaptive management of wireless clients based on clients radio behaviors and capabilities

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure discloses a method and network device for adaptive management of wireless clients based on clients&#39; radio behaviors and capabilities. Specifically, a disclosed network device can dynamically select a location tracking mechanism based on a probing characteristic of a client device. The disclosed network device can also dynamically selects a communication mechanism based on a power saving characteristics of a client device. Moreover, the disclosed network device can determine whether to select a new access point for a client device based on roaming characteristics of the client device. The adaptive management of client devices can be performed on a group of client devices with similar radio behaviors and/or capabilities on a per-radio rather than per-BSSID (basic service set identifier) basis.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to management of wireless clients in awireless local area network. In particular, the present disclosurerelates to adaptive management of wireless clients in a wireless localarea network based on the wireless clients' radio behaviors andcapabilities.

BACKGROUND

Wireless digital networks, such as networks operating under the currentElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, arespreading in their popularity and availability. In a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) deployment, a number of clients can be connected to thesame wireless network via one or more access points. The number and typeof smart phones, tablets, laptops and other clients that connect toWLANs continues to rise as new generations of clients hit the market.Such diverse clients with different operating systems and WLAN chipsetsoften result in a variety of connection speeds, roaming behaviors, bandpreferences, and other capabilities.

The ClientMatch™ technology from Aruba Networks© is able to match aclient's capabilities to an optimal access point in a wireless networkbased on signal strength levels, loads of access points in the wirelessnetwork, etc., and to steer a client to the access point that will offerthe best performance for the client.

Nevertheless, even with ClientMatch™ technology, different clientsconnecting to the same access point often have different radio behaviorsand capabilities. For example, some clients may be legacy clients,whereas other clients may be compatible with IEEE 802.11 ac standards.Some clients may have beamforming capabilities, whereas other clientsmay not have beamforming capabilities. Some clients may be enabled forpower saving capabilities, whereas other clients may not be enabled forpower saving capabilities. Therefore, it would be desirable to applydifferent service mechanisms to different groups of clients havingdifferent radio behaviors and/or capabilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure may be best understood by referring to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings that are used toillustrate embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary wireless networkenvironment according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2A-2B are diagrams illustrating exemplary mechanism for adaptivemanagement of wireless clients based on clients' radio behaviors andcapabilities according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates another exemplary mechanism for adaptive managementof wireless clients based on clients' radio behaviors and capabilitiesaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an exemplary mechanism foradaptive management of wireless clients based on clients' radiobehaviors and capabilities according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate exemplary processes for adaptive management ofwireless clients based on clients' radio behaviors and capabilitiesaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system for adaptive management of wireless clientsbased on clients' radio behaviors and capabilities according toembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, several specific details are presented toprovide a thorough understanding. While the context of the disclosure isdirected to management of wireless clients in WLAN, one skilled in therelevant art will recognize, however, that the concepts and techniquesdisclosed herein can be practiced without one or more of the specificdetails, or in combination with other components, etc. In otherinstances, well-known implementations or operations are not shown ordescribed in details to avoid obscuring aspects of various examplesdisclosed herein. It should be understood that this disclosure coversall modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within thespirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Overview

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to management of wirelessclients in a wireless local area network. In particular, the presentdisclosure relates to adaptive management of wireless clients in awireless local area network based on the wireless clients' radiobehaviors and capabilities.

With the solution provided herein, the disclosed network device monitorsa client device based to determine a probing characteristic for theclient device. The disclosed network device also selects a particularlocation tracking mechanism, of a plurality of location trackingmechanisms, based on the probing characteristic of the client device.Then, the disclosed network device uses the particular location trackingmechanism to determine a location of the client device.

In some embodiments, the disclosed network device determines a powersaving characteristic of a client device, and selects a particularcommunication mechanism, of a plurality of communication mechanisms,based on the power saving characteristic of the client device. Thedisclosed network device can then use the particular communicationmechanism to transmit data to the client device.

In some embodiments, the disclosed network device determines a roamingcharacteristic of a client device. Based on the roaming characteristicof the client device, the disclosed network device determines whetherthe client device is likely to roam under a particular circumstance.Responsive to determining that the client device is not likely to roamunder the particular circumstance, the disclosed network device selectsa particular access point, from a plurality of access points, by anetwork device for the client device. Responsive to determining that theclient device is likely to roam under the particular circumstance, thedisclosed network device allows the client device to select theparticular access point, from the plurality of access points, for theclient device.

Computing Environment

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary wireless digital network environment accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 includes a router 120that connects a wireless local area network (WLAN) 100 and Internet 140.WLAN 100 includes a management network device, e.g., network controller110, that connects a plurality of network devices, such as access pointAP1 130, access point AP2 135, etc. through wired or wirelessconnections. Each network device is further connected with a pluralityof client devices. For example, client devices 160-164 are associatedwith AP1 130; client device 168 is associated with AP2 135.

The network depicted in FIG. 1 may operate on a private networkincluding one or more local area networks. The local area networks maybe adapted to allow wireless access, thereby operating as a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN). In some embodiments, one or more networks mayshare the same extended service set (ESS) although each networkcorresponds to a unique basic service set (BSS) identifier.

In addition, network depicted in FIG. 1 may include multiple networkcontrol plane devices, such as network controllers, access points orrouters capable of controlling functions, etc. Each network controlplane device may be located in a separate sub-network. The networkcontrol plane device may manage one or more network management devices,such as access points or network servers, within the sub-network.

Each client device may have different radio behaviors and/orcapabilities. For example, some clients may be legacy clients, whereasother clients may be compatible with IEEE 802.11 ac standards. Someclients may have beamforming capabilities, whereas other clients may nothave beamforming capabilities. Some clients may be enabled for powersaving capabilities, whereas other clients may not be enabled for powersaving capabilities.

Network controller 110 can adaptively manage client devices 160-168based on their different radio behaviors and/or capabilities. Networkcontroller 110 can group client devices based on their radio behaviorsand/or capabilities, select at least two different actions for twodifferent devices connected to the same access point having the samebasic service set identifier (BSSID). Note that, conventionally, clientdevices can be grouped into multiple groups; and, each group of clientscan be assigned to an access point with a unique BSSID. However, thepresent disclosure allows for client devices to be assigned to a radioof an access point based on the client device's radio behaviors and/orcapabilities, and thus allowing for client device management at agranular level.

Specifically, network controller 110 can dynamically select a locationtracking mechanism based on a probing characteristic of a client device.Moreover, network controller 110 can dynamically select a communicationmechanism based on power saving characteristics of client devices.Finally, network controller 110 can determine whether to select anaccess point for a client device based on roaming characteristics of theclient device. These various adaptive client device managementmechanisms are described in details in the following sections.

Dynamically Select a Location Tracking Mechanism Based on a ProbingCharacteristic of Client Device

FIGS. 2A-2B are diagrams illustrating exemplary mechanism for adaptivemanagement of wireless clients based on clients' radio behaviors andcapabilities according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Specifically, FIG. 2A includes a router 220, a network controller 210,and a number of access points, such as AP1 230 and AP2 235 that aremanaged by network controller 210. Client 260 is associated with AP1230. AP1 230 monitors client device 260 to determine a probingcharacteristic for the client device. Different client devices can havedifferent probing characteristics. For example, Android® devicestypically enable probing capabilities, whereas Apple® devices do not.AP1 230 can select a particular location tracking mechanism based on theprobing characteristic of client device 260.

Specifically, the probing characteristic for client device 260 mayindicate that the client device transmits sufficient number of proberequests. Transmitting sufficient number of probe requests generallyrefers to: (a) the client device sends probe requests with a frequencyabove a particular threshold, and/or (b) the client device transmitsprobe requests when the client device is physically moving and theclient device is not physically moving. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, whenclient device 260 transmits sufficient number of probe requests, AP1 230can use the particular location tracking mechanism to determine alocation of client device 260. The particular location trackingmechanism involves determining the location of the client device basedon probe requests transmitted by the client device.

Alternatively, the probing characteristic for client device 260 mayindicate that the client device does not send sufficient amount of proberequests as illustrated in FIG. 2B. FIG. 2B includes a router 220, anetwork controller 210, and a number of access points, such as AP1 230and AP2 235 that are managed by network controller 210. Client 270 isassociated with AP1 230.

Transmitting insufficient number of probe requests generally refers to:(a) the client device does not send probe requests with a frequencyabove a particular threshold, and/or (b) the client device does nottransmit probe requests when the client device is not physically moving.

When client 270 transmits insufficient number of probe requests, theselected location tracking mechanism will transmit messages to clientdevice 270. In some embodiments, the particular location trackingmechanism involves causing a plurality of network devices within thephysical neighborhood, such as AP1 230, AP2 235, and AP3 238, totransmit messages to the client device around the same time. The APs cancollaboratively send out a message, e.g., a NULL frame, andcollaboratively listen to the response messages from the client device.This may require the nearby APs to switch off its operating channel tolisten for and take measurements of the message from the client device.The particular location tracking mechanism causes client device 270 totransmit messages, e.g., in response to the messages transmitted toclient device 270 by access points 230-238. The increased number ofresponse messages from client device 270 allows for the network devicesto determine accurate location of client device 270.

Dynamically Select a Communication Mechanism Based on Power SayingCharacteristics

FIG. 3 illustrates another exemplary mechanism for adaptive managementof wireless clients based on clients' radio behaviors and capabilitiesaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3includes a router 320, a network controller 310, and a number of accesspoints, such as AP1 330 and AP2 335 that are managed by networkcontroller 310. A number of client devices are associated with eachaccess point. For example, Client A 360 and Client B 365 are bothassociated with AP1 330. Different client devices may be in differentpower save mode while associated with the access points. As illustratedin FIG. 3, Client A 360 is in power save mode, whereas Client B 365 isnot in power save mode.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, AP1 330 candetermine a power saving characteristic of client devices 360 and/or365. AP1 330 can then select a particular communication mechanism, of aplurality of communication mechanisms, based on the power savingcharacteristic of the client device. The plurality of communicationmechanisms may include a broadcast delivery mechanism, a multicastdeliver mechanism, and/or a unicast delivery mechanism, etc.

AP1 330 then uses the particular communication mechanism to transmitdata to client devices 360 and/or 365. For example, AP1 330 determinesthat client device 360 is currently in power save mode, and thus selectsa unicast delivery mechanism to transmit unicast packets 350 to clientdevice 360. On the other hand, AP1 330 determines that client device 365is currently not in power save mode, and thus selects a multicastdelivery mechanism to transmit multicast packets 355 to client device365.

Furthermore, the power saving characteristic may indicate whether or nota power saving mode for the client device can be configured by a networkdevice. For example, some client devices can allow a network device,such as an access point, to turn on or off its power save mode.

When the power saving characteristic indicates that the power savingmode for the client device can be configured by a network device,controller 310 and/or AP1 330 can select a multicast delivery mechanismfor transmitting data to the client device, or a unicast deliverymechanism for transmitting data to client device 360 and/or clientdevice 365. Specifically, when a first subset of client devicesconnected to an AP are in power save mode and a second subset of clientdevices connected to the AP are not in power save mode, the AP cantransmit unicast packets to client devices in the second subset and onlybuffer packets for client devices in the first subset.

In addition, when the power saving characteristic indicates that a powersaving mode for the client device can be configured by a network device,controller 310 and/or AP1 330 can add data redundancy information to thedata transmitted to the client device. Alternatively, when the powersaving characteristic indicates that the power saving mode for theclient device can be configured by a network device, controller 310and/or AP1 330 can refrain from adding data redundancy information tothe data transmitted to the client device or removing the dataredundancy information from the data transmitted to the client device.Because unicast packet delivery is generally more reliable thanmulticast packet delivery, AP1 may not need to add redundancyinformation to the unicast packets. However, when multicast packets aredelivered to client devices, AP1 330 may need to add redundancyinformation to the multicast packets for improved reliability ofdelivery.

Determine Whether to Select Access Point for a Client Device Based onRoaming Characteristics of the Client Device

FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an exemplary mechanism foradaptive management of wireless clients based on clients' radiobehaviors and capabilities according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 4 includes AP1 410 and two client devices Client A 420and Client B 430, both which are associated with AP1 410 at time pointt₀ initially.

A network device, such as AP1 410 (or a network controller, not shown),can determine a roaming characteristic of a client device (e.g., ClientA 420 and/or Client B 430). Based on the roaming characteristic of theclient device, AP1 410 determines whether the client device is likely toroam under a particular circumstance. If AP1 410 determines that theclient device is not likely to roam under the particular circumstance,AP1 410 or another network device can select a particular access point,from a plurality of access points, for the client device. On the otherhand, if AP1 410 or another network device determines that the clientdevice is likely to roam under the particular circumstance, AP1 410 oranother network device can allow the client device to select theparticular access point, from the plurality of access points, for theclient device.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, at time point t₁, AP1 410 determines thatClient A 420 is likely to roam. Moreover, AP1 410 may further determinethat Client A 420 is likely to make a sound roaming decision, e.g., byselecting the best access point, based on its historical roamingdecisions monitored and stored in the system. For example, the systemcan determine, each time when a client device roams from a first AP to asecond AP, whether the second AP is a better AP for the client device tobe connected to, and stores such historical roaming decisions. Thus, AP1410 allows Client A 420 to select the access point to connect with byitself. As a result, at time point t₂, Client A 420 disassociates withAP1 410. Client A 420 may determine that AP1 410 is the best AP toconnect and subsequently re-associates with AP1 410 at time point t₃.

In some embodiments, determining the roaming characteristic of Client A420 involves determining whether or not the client device is likely toroam in response to a connectivity level with a current access pointbelow a particular threshold.

In some embodiments, determining the roaming characteristic of Client A420 involves determining whether or not the client device is likely toroam in response to a load of the current access point being above aparticular threshold. Note that, the load of the current access point isadvertised by the current access point in a load metric.

In some embodiments, determining the first roaming characteristic ofClient A 420 involves determining whether or not the client device islikely to roam to a new access point in response to determining that afirst connectivity level with the new access point is better than asecond connectivity level with a current access point.

As another example, after an extended period of connection, AP1 410determines at time point t₄ that Client B 420 is unlikely to roam toanother AP. Therefore, AP1 410 selects a particular AP, e.g., AP2, forClient B 420 based on knowledge of network conditions.

In some embodiments, AP1 410 can select AP2 for Client B 430 byrejecting association request received from Client B 430. Moreover,another network device (e.g., network controller) can configure accesspoints other than AP2 to reject an association process initiated byClient B 430.

In some embodiments, AP1 410 can select AP2 for Client B 430 byrefraining from responding to probe requests transmitted by Client B430. Moreover, another network device (e.g., network controller) canconfigure access points other than AP2 to refrain from responding toprobe requests transmitted by Client B 430.

In some embodiments, AP1 410 can select AP2 for Client B 430 bytransmitting a message, to the client device, at time point t₅,identifying a new access point (e.g., AP2) that Client B 430 is toconnect to in order to access one or more network resources. Uponreceiving the message, at time point t₆, Client B 430 disassociates withAP1 410.

In some embodiments, a network device monitors detects a radio behaviorof a client device, and assigns the client device to a group based onthe detected radio behavior. Subsequently, the network device can takean action based on the client device belonging to a particular group.The action may include, for example, gathering information bytransmitting a message to a client device that does not transmit anyprobe messages to solicit a response from the client device.

Note that, selecting the particular access point for the client deviceby a network device or allowing the client device to select theparticular access point is based on whether or not the client device islikely to roam under each of the plurality of circumstances. Theplurality of circumstances include, but are not limited to, aconnectivity level with a current access point drops below a particularthreshold; a load of the current access point exceeds a particularthreshold, whereas the load of the current access point is advertised bythe current access point in a load metric; a first connectivity levelwith the new access point is better than a second connectivity levelwith a current access point; etc.

Process for Adaptive Management of Wireless Clients Based on Clients'Radio Behaviors and Capabilities

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate exemplary processes for adaptive management ofwireless clients based on clients' radio behaviors and capabilitiesaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Specifically, FIG. 5A illustrates a process for dynamically selecting alocation tracking mechanism based on a probing characteristic of aclient device. During operations, a network device monitors clientdevice to determine probing characteristic of client device (operation505). The network device selects a particular location trackingmechanism of a plurality of location tracking mechanisms based on aprobing characteristic of the client device (operation 510). The networkdevice then uses the particular location tracking mechanism to determinea location of the client device (operation 515). Further, the networkdevice determines that the probing characteristic of the client deviceindicates that the client device does not transmit a sufficient numberof probe requests (operation 520). Accordingly, the network deviceperforms one or more of: (a) transmitting messages to the client device,(b) facilitating the client device to transmit messages, and/or (c)facilitating neighboring access points to transmit messages to theclient device (operation 525).

FIG. 5B illustrates a process for dynamically selecting a communicationmechanism based on power saving characteristics of client devices.During operations, a network device determines a power savingcharacteristic of a client device (operation 530). The network deviceselects a particular communication mechanism of a plurality ofcommunication mechanisms based on the power saving characteristic of theclient device (operation 535). The network device then uses theparticular power saving mechanism to transmit data to the client device(operation 540). Furthermore, the network device can determine whetherthe power saving characteristic indicates that the power saving mode forthe client device can be configured by the network device (operation545). If so, the network device will select a unicast delivery mechanismto transmit packets to the client device (operation 555). Otherwise, thenetwork device will select a multicast delivery mechanism to transmitpackets to the client device (operation 550).

FIG. 5C illustrates a process for determining whether to select anaccess point for a client device based on roaming characteristics of theclient device. During operations, a network device determines a roamingcharacteristic of a client device (operation 560). The network devicedetermines whether the client device is likely to roam under aparticular circumstance based on roaming characteristics of the clientdevice (operation 565). If so, the network device allows the clientdevice to select a particular access point from a plurality of accesspoints for the client device (operation 575). Otherwise, the networkdevice selects a particular access point from a plurality of accesspoints for the client device (operation 570).

System for Adaptive Management of Wireless Clients Based on Clients'Radio Behaviors and Capabilities

FIG. 6 illustrates a system for adaptive management of wireless clientsbased on clients' radio behaviors and capabilities according toembodiments of the present disclosure.

Network device 600 includes at least one or more radio antennas 610capable of either transmitting or receiving radio signals or both, anetwork interface 620 capable of communicating to a wired or wirelessnetwork, a processor 630 capable of processing computing instructions,and a memory 640 capable of storing instructions and data. Moreover,network device 600 further includes a receiving mechanism 650, atransmitting mechanism 660, determining mechanism 670, and selectingmechanism 680, all of which are in communication with processor 630and/or memory 640 in network device 600. Network device 600 may be usedas a client system, or a server system, or may serve both as a clientand a server in a distributed or a cloud computing environment.

Radio antenna 610 may be any combination of known or conventionalelectrical components for receipt of signaling, including but notlimited to, transistors, capacitors, resistors, multiplexers, wiring,registers, diodes or any other electrical components known or laterbecome known.

Network interface 620 can be any communication interface, which includesbut is not limited to, a modem, token ring interface, Ethernetinterface, wireless IEEE 802.11 interface, cellular wireless interface,satellite transmission interface, or any other interface for couplingnetwork devices.

Processor 630 can include one or more microprocessors and/or networkprocessors. Memory 640 can include storage components, such as, DynamicRandom Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), etc.

Receiving mechanism 650 generally receives one or more network messagesvia network interface 620 or radio antenna 610 from a wireless client.The received network messages may include, but are not limited to,requests and/or responses, beacon frames, management frames, controlpath frames, and so on. Each message may comprise one or more datapackets, for example, in the form of IP packets.

Transmitting mechanism 660 generally transmits messages, which include,but are not limited to, requests and/or responses, beacon frames,management frames, control path frames, and so on. Specifically,transmitting mechanism 660 can use a particular communication mechanismselected based on a client device's power save characteristic totransmit data to the client device.

Determining mechanism 670 generally determines a location, a power savecharacteristic, and/or a roaming characteristic of a client device.Specifically, in some embodiments, determining mechanism 670 can use aparticular location tracking mechanism to determine a location of theclient device. The particular location tracking mechanism involves oneor more of: transmitting messages to the client device, causing theclient device to transmit messages, and/or causing a plurality ofnetwork devices to transmit messages to the client device. In someembodiments, determining mechanism 670 determines a power savingcharacteristic of a client device.

In some embodiments, determining mechanism 670 determines a roamingcharacteristic of a client device. Based on the roaming characteristicof the client device, determining mechanism 670 determines whether theclient device is likely to roam under a under a plurality ofcircumstances. For example, determining mechanism 670 can determinewhether or not the client device is likely to roam in response to aconnectivity level with a current access point below a particularthreshold. Also, determining mechanism 670 can determine whether or notthe client device is likely to roam in response to a load of the currentaccess point being above a particular threshold. The load of the currentaccess point is advertised by the current access point in a load metric.Further, determining mechanism 670 can determine whether or not theclient device is likely to roam to a new access point in response todetermining that a first connectivity level with the new access point isbetter than a second connectivity level with a current access point.

Selecting mechanism 680 generally selects a particular location trackingmechanism, of a plurality of location tracking mechanisms, based on theprobing characteristic of the client device. The probing characteristiccan be determined by determining mechanism 670 from monitoring theclient device.

In some embodiments, the probing characteristic for the client deviceindicates that the client device transmits sufficient amount of probes.In some embodiments, the probing characteristic for the client deviceindicates that the client device does not send sufficient amount ofprobe requests.

In some embodiments, the particular location tracking mechanism involvesdetermining the location of the client device based on probe requeststransmitted by the client device.

In some embodiments, selecting mechanism 680 selects a particularcommunication mechanism, of a plurality of communication mechanisms,based on the power saving characteristic of the client device. The powersaving characteristic may indicate whether or not a power saving modefor the client device can be configured by a network device, forexample, according to IEEE 802.11v standard.

When the power saving characteristic indicates that the power savingmode for the client device can be configured by network device 600.Selecting mechanism 680 configures the client device not to be in powersaving mode and selects a multicast delivery mechanism for transmittingdata to the client device. Moreover, transmitting mechanism 660 addsdata redundancy information to the data transmitted to the clientdevice.

When the power saving characteristic indicates that a power saving modefor the client device cannot be configured by a network device, and theclient device is in power saving mode, selecting mechanism 680 selects aunicast delivery mechanism for transmitting data to the client device.

When the power saving characteristic indicates that a power saving modefor the client device can be configured by a network device,transmitting mechanism 660 refrains from adding data redundancyinformation to the data transmitted to the client device or removing thedata redundancy information from the data transmitted to the clientdevice.

In response to determining that the client device is not likely to roamunder the particular circumstance, selecting mechanism 680 selects aparticular access point, from a plurality of access points, by a networkdevice for the client device. On the other hand, in response todetermining that the client device is likely to roam under theparticular circumstance, selecting mechanism 680 allows the clientdevice to select the particular access point, from the plurality ofaccess points, for the client device.

Selecting the particular access point for the client device by a networkdevice or allowing the client device to select the particular accesspoint is based on whether or not the client device is likely to roamunder each of the plurality of circumstances. Furthermore, selectingmechanism 680 can configure at least one other access point to reject anassociation process initiated by the client device. Selecting mechanism680 also can configure at least one other access point to refrain fromresponding to probe requests transmitted by the first client device. Inaddition, transmitting mechanism 660 can transmit a message, to theclient device, identifying a new access point that the client device isto connect to in order to access one or more network resources, therebyguiding the client device to select the new access point to connect to.

The present disclosure may be realized in hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software. The present disclosure may berealized in a centralized fashion in one computer system or in adistributed fashion where different elements are spread across severalinterconnected computer systems coupled to a network. A typicalcombination of hardware and software may be an access point with acomputer program that, when being loaded and executed, controls thedevice such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present disclosure also may be embedded in non-transitory fashion ina computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a programmable circuit; asemiconductor memory such as a volatile memory such as random accessmemory “RAM,” or non-volatile memory such as read-only memory,power-backed RAM, flash memory, phase-change memory or the like; a harddisk drive; an optical disc drive; or any connector for receiving aportable memory device such as a Universal Serial Bus “USB” flashdrive), which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

As used herein, “network device” generally includes a device that isadapted to transmit and/or receive signaling and to process informationwithin such signaling such as a station (e.g., any data processingequipment such as a computer, cellular phone, personal digitalassistant, tablet devices, etc.), an access point, data transfer devices(such as network switches, routers, controllers, etc.) or the like.

As used herein, “access point” (AP) generally refers to receiving pointsfor any known or convenient wireless access technology which may laterbecome known. Specifically, the term AP is not intended to be limited toIEEE 802.11-based APs. APs generally function as an electronic devicethat is adapted to allow wireless devices to connect to a wired networkvia various communications standards.

As used herein, the term “interconnect” or used descriptively as“interconnected” is generally defined as a communication pathwayestablished over an information-carrying medium. The “interconnect” maybe a wired interconnect, wherein the medium is a physical medium (e.g.,electrical wire, optical fiber, cable, bus traces, etc.), a wirelessinterconnect (e.g., air in combination with wireless signalingtechnology) or a combination of these technologies.

As used herein, “information” is generally defined as data, address,control, management (e.g., statistics) or any combination thereof. Fortransmission, information may be transmitted as a message, namely acollection of bits in a predetermined format. One type of message,namely a wireless message, includes a header and payload data having apredetermined number of bits of information. The wireless message may beplaced in a format as one or more packets, frames or cells.

As used herein, “wireless local area network” (WLAN) generally refers toa communications network links two or more devices using some wirelessdistribution method (for example, spread-spectrum or orthogonalfrequency-division multiplexing radio), and usually providing aconnection through an access point to the Internet; and thus, providingusers with the mobility to move around within a local coverage area andstill stay connected to the network.

As used herein, the term “mechanism” generally refers to a component ofa system or device to serve one or more functions, including but notlimited to, software components, electronic components, electricalcomponents, mechanical components, electro-mechanical components, etc.

As used herein, the term “embodiment” generally refers an embodimentthat serves to illustrate by way of example but not limitation.

It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art that the precedingexamples and embodiments are exemplary and not limiting to the scope ofthe present disclosure. It is intended that all permutations,enhancements, equivalents, and improvements thereto that are apparent tothose skilled in the art upon a reading of the specification and a studyof the drawings are included within the true spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure. It is therefore intended that the following appendedclaims include all such modifications, permutations and equivalents asfall within the true spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

While the present disclosure has been described in terms of variousembodiments, the present disclosure should not be limited to only thoseembodiments described, but can be practiced with modification andalteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Likewise,where a reference to a standard is made in the present disclosure, thereference is generally made to the current version of the standard asapplicable to the disclosed technology area. However, the describedembodiments may be practiced under subsequent development of thestandard within the spirit and scope of the description and appendedclaims. The description is thus to be regarded as illustrative ratherthan limiting.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer readable mediumcomprising instructions which, when executed by one or more devices,causes performance of operations comprising: monitoring a client deviceto determine a probing characteristic for the client device, wherein theprobing characteristic for the client device indicates that the clientdevice does not send sufficient amount of probe requests; determining aradio behavior of the client device based on the determined probingcharacteristic; categorizing the client device based on the determinedradio behavior of the client device; selecting a particular locationtracking mechanism, of a plurality of location tracking mechanisms,based on the categorization of the client device, wherein the locationtracking mechanism determines the location of the client device based ontransmitted probe requests; and using the particular location trackingmechanism to determine a location of the client device.
 2. The medium ofclaim 1, wherein the particular location tracking mechanism comprisestransmitting messages to the client device.
 3. The medium of claim 1,wherein the particular location tracking mechanism comprises causing theclient device to transmit messages.
 4. The medium of claim 1, whereinthe particular location tracking mechanism comprises causing a pluralityof network devices to transmit messages to the client device.